Scott Stantis Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

Conventions | Thousands filed into Moscow’s Crocus Expo over the weekend for what’s billed as Russia’s first-ever comic convention. While Misha Collins of long-running CW series Supernatural was a big celebrity draw, the main attraction appeared to be the idea of the convention itself. “I’ve wanted to come for years,” 31-year-old Elena Formina told The Guardian. “There have always been geeks and fans here, it’s just now they call it Comic-Con. American, Russian – all fans are the same. They love their heroes. It’s about sharing that love.” [The Guardian]

Passings | Italian comics creator Lorenzo Bartoli died Sunday at the age of 48. Bartoli made his comics debut in 1988 in the pages of the comic anthology L’Eternauta but is best known as the co-creator, with Roberto Recchioni, of John Doe, a comic about an employee of a firm that deals with the management of death. His series Dolls was published in the United sTates by Sirius, and his Morrigan appeared in Heavy Metal. He also wrote two cyberpunk novels under the name Akira Mishima. [Comicus]

Publishing | In advance of Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio and Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada discuss who’s reading their comics, and the creative challenges of writing about characters who have been around for generations. Asked if he was the custodian of contemporary myths, DiDio answered, “You know, I feel like a renter, to be honest. I’m in charge at this moment, and the goal is to keep these myths healthy enough so that, eventually, you can pass them down to the next person who rents them.” [Chicago Tribune]

Conventions | Christopher Butcher, the organizer of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, talks about how the show has grown and what to expect this year, including an interesting slate of international creators, from David B. to Taiyo Matsumoto. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | For Slate’s “Doers” feature — “People who accomplish great things, and how they do it” — David Wiegel spotlights Rob Liefeld’s decision to revive his Extreme Studios line by handing over the properties to creators like Brandon Graham, Joe Keatinge and Tim Seeley. Acknowledging his critics prefer these new versions of Glory, Prophet and Bloodstrike to his originals, Liefeld tells the website, ““The internet snark has zero effect on me. I was there 20 years ago, I’m out there on the convention circuit, I experience the real and tangible enthusiasm for me and my work. You can’t rewrite the history books, you can’t eliminate the impact of my work and my characters. […] Rob Liefeld is to today as Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan are to my kids.” [Slate.com]